Lander’s Pension-Fund-Abuse Ploy

After nearly a year as city comptroller, Brad Lander plainly still doesn’t understand the limits — and duties — of his job. He’s now trying to use public pension funds to browbeat The New York Times into making labor-contract concessions to its privileged journalists.

Joining Times staffers’ one-day strike last week, Lander threatened to sell off pensionfund stock in the New York Times Co. if the paper doesn’t “treat its workers fairly.”

That dispute is none of the comptroller’s business. He’s meant to be an impartial government official, tasked to oversee city finances and serve as a fiduciary to the municipal pension funds. Not to meddle in management-union battles at private businesses.

Indeed, as a fiduciary, Lander’s chief legal duty is to maximize returns on pension-fund assets, holding down costs for taxpayers, who must cover any shortfalls to meet pension obligations to retired city workers. (By the way, he doesn’t even have full control over the funds’ $250 billion in assets.)

We’re not suggesting Lander side with management, either, though it’s certainly more concerned with generating higher profits and boosting stock values than workers seeking higher pay and better benefits.

Yes, city comptrollers — going back decades — have long tried to use the funds for blatantly political purposes, often at taxpayer expense. Meanwhile, taxpayers’ pension-fund contributions ballooned from $1.4 billion a year to $9.8 billion (11% of the city budget). Plus, the city budget already faces massive future-year gaps, and New Yorkers’ tax burden is high enough.

Lander has every right to express personal support for lefty causes. But threatening to abuse his official powers at taxpayers’ expense is beyond the pale.